Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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310. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Office of Public Works has concluded phase 1 works at the National Monument located on 14 to 17 Moore Street, Dublin 1; if the OPW expert technical team and external technical services teams have been formally appointed; the amount of funding allocated in Budget 2023 to the project; and if design preparation works have begun. [51388/22]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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In pursuit of the Government’s decision on the matter, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has engaged with the project to conserve the National Monument at 14 – 17 Moore St and present it to the visiting public together with appropriate historical interpretation and exhibition.

The supporting building technical team has been identified and terms of service have been set out; a formal appointment of the individual team members is expected shortly. Immediately thereafter, the team will review all of the designs and assessments that have been undertaken to date prior to the cessation of works in 2015 and will confirm that they are still valid and in accordance with current building standards or if they need any amendment. Additionally, OPW expects to advertise a public tender for the provision of interpretation design consultancy services to work in tandem with the building team as the design progresses.

The first stage of the project onsite will involve carefully addressing the structure and performing certain engineering works to stabilise these quite fragile buildings and create the platform for the provision of the proposed 1916 Commemorative Centre within them as a second stage.

Specific financial allocations for 2023 have not been determined as yet; however, the project’s financial parameters will become clearer when the Design Team complete their initial assessment. Drawdown from the combined approved Urban Regeneration and Development Fund allocation of €12.17 million and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s match funding will be available to OPW as required when works commence onsite.